Education/Project Module
Blood Flow
• Lessons on concepts of the human circulatory system
Regulation of blood flow
hemostasis and thrombosis
Effect of pressure and velocity on blood flow
Christine Karklins
Education Module - Requisite background
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Human circulatory system knowledge
Blood and its components
Blood coagulation basics
Viscosity and its effect on flow rate
Pressure and flow/relationships
Educational Module Examples
Human blood & components
Coagulation
Blood & related anomalies
Educational Module Materials
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syringe
Tubing and connectors
Graduated cylinders - measure solutions
Food coloring - instead of buffer solution
Y connectors - branches in “vessels”
Corn starch
Project Module – 5 step experiment
Observe and listen to
students as they work
individually and in
groups.
STEP 1: circulation model
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Components:syringe, tubing
Input: Fluid (Water+food color)
Output: Measure outlet flow rate
Compute: Velocity (vary diameter)
Analysis: Relationship
(flow,velocity, diameter)
With Clot
Branching
STEP 2: EFFECT OF BLOOD VISCOSITY
• Use Model described in Step 1
• Measure the effects of viscosity on blood flow
• Add corn starch to thicken the “blood” for
viscousness
• Calculate the flow rate as function of relative
viscosity
• Theoretically calculate the flow rate of
patients with anomalies in blood cell counts and
corroborate with this model.
STEP 3: BRANCHING model
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Components: syringe, tubing, connectors
Input: Fluid (Water+food color)
Output: Measure outlet flow rate
Compute: Velocity (vary diameter)
Analysis: Effect of distributed blood flow
(flow rate, velocity)
STEP 4: DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT) model
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Components: syringe, tubing, cotton balls
Input: Fluid (Water+food color)
Assembly: Cotton of different thickness/density plugged into tubing
Output: Measure outlet flow rate)
Analysis: Effect of ‘clot’ on flow rate
Improvements: Model ‘clot’ dissolution, movement
STEP 5: Synthetic biomaterials & Thrombosis
Stent
Heart Valve
Catheter
•Objectives: familiarity with prosthetic materials
stents, vascular grafts (tube like)
•Components: vascular grafts, stents, pump
•Focus in research is on the development of antithombotic materials
•Model stent, grafts for presentation.
Assessment Activity
Post-test:
• Assesses the students’ knowledge of the circulatory system
• Assess the students understanding of blood and its components
Experiment/Lab Report:
• Assesses the students’ knowledge of the engineering principles that
govern the circulatory system.
• Assess the ability of the student to grasp the concepts of experimental
in vitro experiments
Extention Activity
Students may choose one of the following projects as a
culminating activity:
• Research on circulatory system, blood and coagulation.
• Presentation: Create a Poster Board or Pamphlet to educate
their school/community about the human circulatory
system in the context of…hemostasis, thrombus, the heart
and heart disease.
• Research important people, events, inventions, and
advancements in bioengineering.
• Investigate and report on current and future technologies
used to treat vascular disease.
Ethics
• Case study…present students with a scenario in which a
scientist does not include data that is inconsistent with his
conclusion. Have class discussion on ethical
considerations of omitting data.
• Maintenance of graft-5yr life span for material
• Code of ethics online http://www.onlineethics.org/
• Discussion: What data should be kept? What data should
be thrown out? Why?
• Discuss design criteria for ideal vascular graft, limitations
and successes of current grafts.
• Justice issues.
Analyze the pure and applied research nature of
science
Evaluate public perceptions of value of scientific
research
Assess short- and long-term risks/benefits of specific
pure research which directly led, or may lead, to direct
applications.